Black Pines Forest
by reltubarim
Summary: Dipper Pines gets a job on the fire watch deep in the Black Pines Forest. Stranded for days with no one to talk to but his partner hundreds of trees away, Dipper slowly learns the values of alone time.


Dipper Pines kicked the door shut to his red pick-up truck with only a sigh as he breathed in the mountain air of his new home for the next few months.

This is going to be good for him. A trip away from civilization and all the drama of his life would definitely be good for him.

Pine trees creaked lightly as they swayed in the crisp breeze of the mountain wind, bringing the smell of maple and pine to Dipper's nose, and inviting him deeper into the dark forest that is going to be his new home. In the distance he noticed the watchtower he'd be staying at for the summer, hanging above the trees like a beacon to anyone lost in the depths of the forest.

This is going to be good.

Upon reaching the watchtower, he began to lug his bag up the splintery steps to the top of the tower. It was an old tower, but felt sturdy enough for him to feel safe while doing his job of protecting the forest.

The square room that is his new home for the summer had a cozy, lived in feel to it. A bed lay low in one corner across from where Dipper stood at the entrance to the room, sheets already tucked in snug. Adjacent from that was a kitchenette, complete with a sink and a small burner. Across from the bed and to Dipper's left was a desk, filled with papers, pencils, a flashlight, rope, and whatever else Dipper might need to do his job of keeping the forest safe this summer. In the center of the room was a table with a map of the forest laid out across it, a walkie-talkie lying on top.

Dipper walked over and dropped his luggage on the bed, to be taken care of later. He gingerly picked up the walkie-talkie and, feeling quite silly, spoke into it.

"Um… Hello?"

Silence. All that he could hear was the gentle undulating from the trees and the occasional bird calls.

Then, a crackle.

"Yeah, what do you want?"

"Um, I'm the new fire watchmen, at watchtower three."

"Oh, hey, you're the new guy. Well if you called because you're nervous, don't worry. No matter what you do, you'll never be as bad as the last guy who ran your tower. Name's Bill, by the way. I'll be your advisor this summer."

Dipper took the time to look out of the windows surrounding his room, noticing another tower in the distance, across hundreds more trees. He wondered about the person who lived in this tower before him.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Dipper." He decided against giving his last name, as it would've been entirely ironic. "Is that you over in watchtower two?"

"Yeah, home sweet home. Dipper? What kind of name is that? Nevermind, I don't care. If you see any smoke, gimme a ring, if not, I might call you anyway. It gets really lonely out here and if you don't talk to someone you'll go insane. Trust me. It's a real simple job either way, you're gonna love it here."

Dipper's getting mixed signals from this guy.

Every second it's a different conversation, but he supposes that's what makes it interesting. It's part of the reason he signed up for this job, a change of pace and an area entirely out of his comfort zone.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Good, because around here, my word is law. I state this today, you _will_ have fun on this job!"

Dipper laughed, still looking over at that tower. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend they're in the same room. That would make all this slightly less awkward. Even though he barely knew this guy, he thinks that Mabel would like him. The thought made his mood lower and his laughing cut off abruptly. Bill must have noticed the sudden tension and tried to dispel it.

"You want you're first ever assignment now or do you want to get settled in first?"

"I'll take that assignment please." Dipper replied, thankful for a distraction.

The first day of his watch begins.

The forest has a certain peace to it unlike anything Dipper's ever felt before. It's quiet, despite the sounds of nature. Ambience surrounds you so much that it feels silent almost, except for you and your own thoughts. Birds sing and creatures scurry through the underbrush in a fright as you walk by. Trees creak and rustle making you feel fear of beasts leaning upon them, but even with all these sounds surrounding and engulfing your very being, it's quiet.

"Heyo Dip, what's your story?"

Until it isn't.

"What do you mean?" Dipper sighs on his trek through the forest to a campsite he saw smoking a while ago. It's probably just kids having some fun, but it's his new job to be concerned about things such as these.

"Nobody takes this job because they actually _like_ looking out for fires. This is a job to get away from something. So, what are you getting away from?" Bill asks casually, as if talking about the weather.

"What are _you_ getting away from?" Dipper retorts. He's not about to share his story with some stranger.

"Touche." He replies, and they leave it at that.

Dipper walks in silence for only a moment before Bill starts talking again.

"So how do you like the job so far?"

"It's good. Other than the impending fear of something hiding behind every bush, it's fine. It's very quiet out here." When Bill's not talking, that is. Dipper adds in his head. He's not annoyed by it, but sometimes he just wants to revel in the peace.

"Oh there's definitely something behind the bushes, you should watch yourself." Dipper's not sure whether Bill is joking or not. "And quiet? Are you telling me you don't hear those fucking birds every second of the day?"

Dipper didn't grace that with a response, deciding instead to sneak as he approached the campsite where the smoke was coming from. What he found was not at all what he expected.

"Hey Bill, are there bears in these forests?"

"Of course there are, somewhere out there. Why? Do you see one? Curl into a ball right now."

"No, no, I'm fine. It's the campsite, it looks a bear or something attacked these tents." Dipper examined the clawed up tents more closely, noticing a cooler that was turned over inside. There were no people, blood stains, or anything else to suggest life. He quickly stomped the campfire out, as the embers were still burning slightly. No need to start any forest fires.

"That's weird. The only bears we get here are black bears, and they're usually peaceful. Maybe it was a raccoon?"

"A raccoon could do this?" Dipper asked dubiously. These tears were big, nothing small could have done this.

"Well fuck I don't know. Maybe it was bigfoot."

"Ha. Ha." Dipper laughed humorlessly. "Seriously though, what should I do about this?"

"Look around for tracks, or bodies." Bill chuckled evilly from the other end of the radio.

Dipper didn't answer, instead choosing to look around the camp for any signs of life. There were human footprints leading off north of the camp, so he decided to follow them.

"I found human footprints, following them now."

"Okay Sherlock."

Dipper followed the trail through the winding forests, off the parks built in trails and through the underbrush until he came to cave system, blocked off with a gate. Confused, Dipper looked through the gates, putting his hands on the fence and shaking to see if it would open. It remained shut, much to Dipper's displeasure.

"Hey I found uh, a locked gate that leads to what looks like the entrance to a cave?"

"Ooh those are the maintenance tunnels."

"Maintenance for what? We're in the middle of the woods."

"Yes we are, astute observation." Bill rejoined sarcastically. "We used to have underground cave tours, but they got shut down when the caves were deemed too dangerous for the public. Now we just use them to get around the forest without having to walk the trails."

The tracks ended here, but there were no signs of breaking the gate. They couldn't have had a key, they're just a bunch of kids.

"I'm gonna head back to the tower, there's nothing else here."  
"Whatever you say dude."

He followed the trails back to his watchtower, deciding to forgo a trek through the grueling woods. Once he got there, the sky had gone down significantly and now was a purplish magenta color. Stars freckled out above like the constellation on himself. He touched his forehead, memories coming up in rapid succession.

"Mabel." He slipped out subconsciously, looking to the night sky for some kind of answers.

"What was that?" Bill crackled over the radio, causing Dipper to jump.

"Uh nothing I was just… reminded of my sister. It's nothing." He hurried to cover up his mistake.

"Sister, huh? Is she part of your horrible backstory?"

"Um… yes."

"Hmm… You'll tell me when you're ready, okay?"

Dipper was shocked into silence for a moment, disbelieving of Bill's sympathy.

"Okay."

He went to bed soundlessly that night.

Dipper woke up to Bill singing strangely through the radio and the orange sun on his face. It was an ominous tune that was unfamiliar to Dipper's ears, but that apparently Bill knew quite well.

"Good morning to you too." Dipper grumbled politely, voice still rough with sleep.

"I was just singing you a lovely song my grandmother taught me. It's called _Kindertotenlieder_. It's a german song."

Dipper blinked. That was surprising.

"I didn't know you were german."

"Oh I'm not, but my grandmother is."

Confusion mixed with early morning grogginess had Dipper's head spinning.

"I'm adopted." Bill offered to clear up the confusion that had settled. Dissipating, the cloud was gone from Dipper's mind as he finally woke up and processed all the things Bill was dropping on him this early in the morning.

"What's it about?"

"The death of children."

At Dipper's shocked silence, Bill burst out into glorious laughter. He wanted to assume Bill's joking, but what kind of person jokes about that.

"Not a very happy song to wake up to." Dipper finally responded to the dying giggles coming from Bill.

"Oh not at all. But then again, living isn't a very happy thing to wake up to."

Dipper was yet again stumped into quietness as he stumbled over how to respond. Bill just basically said that he doesn't enjoy living. What do you say to someone who feels like that?

"Do you want to know why I decided to come out here?" Dipper asked, if only to change the subject.

"Oh I'd _love_ to know all your little secrets." Bill responded jokingly but with a hint of seriousness.

Sighing, Dipper mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. Why did he decide to do this again? It had been a while of them talking together and joking as Dipper went out and did his job. It was nice. DIpper can honestly say he enjoys Bill's company, which is surprising since he's usually such a quiet and isolated person. Bill brings out this weird feeling within him. He's not sure whether it's good or bad.

"I have a twin sister, Mabel. We're very close, have been since the day we were born. It's always been just the two of us against the world." Dipper sighed, taking a second to compose himself.

"She's always had an overactive imagination. We just never thought that it was a problem. SIx months ago, Mabel was diagnosed as a schizophrenic." He paused again, Bill was silent as well. "Which was fine, there's nothing wrong with being mentally ill, but she took it hard. She started isolating herself, refusing to speak. She'd just stare at places with wide eyes filled with such _fear_. I'd never seen anything like it."

Now was the moment Dipper had been dreading the most. Not saying it would end the story abruptly and leave Bill with no explanation, but Dipper didn't want to go through saying this again. He's already had to tell doctor after doctor. Not Bill too.

"Two months ago… She tried to kill herself."

Tears blurred Dipper's vision. Desperately, he tried to keep his sobbing out of his voice as he went on.

"I found her. Right on time. Took her to the hospital. They sent her to a mental hospital. She's still in there now."

He can't go on. He turned off the speak button on his radio and sobbed into his hands, letting out all of the frustrations he'd kept in since being here. All the anger, despair, hopelessness that he's felt since the incident comes rushing out, leaving Dipper a crying, snotty mess of red eyes and tears.

"My mother and father were murdered when I was a baby." Bill's statement shocked Dipper out of his crying.

"I survived the ordeal, miraculously. Got sent to the orphanage real quick 'cause I was still a cute child. The family I was sent to was nice enough. They adopted me because their first son died a few days after birth. They had another kid after me. She was hit by a car when she was three." Bill paused, allowing Dipper to let all this sink in. It was a lot to think about and it made him feel so bad he almost started crying again, but he didn't.

"I was diagnosed with psychosis as a teenager. It was perfect for the bullies, a 'psycho' kid that's _actually_ psychotic. I wouldn't let them hurt me though. After about a month, they got it. _Don't mess with me_ , that's what they got."

The sun was still low in the sky, the orange turning the sky to more of a yellow daisy type of color, with light blue ribbons peeking out just above. It was too beautiful a day to be having this conversation.

"Have you stopped crying yet, or do you want me to go on?" Bill asked, his voice the same monotone he had used while explaining his story.

"No, that's okay." Dipper responded after a moment's hesitation, his voice hoarse from the exertion.

They were silent, both in their own worlds as they watched the sun pull higher into the sky together, yet apart. Whatever pains Dipper felt were shared, and that was enough to comfort him into strangely, feeling nothing at all.

Things were easier between them once they shared their lives with each other. A tension Dipper hadn't even noticed has eased into a comfortable connection that they now shared. Talking was easygoing and simple, something that he'd yearned for since Mabel went to the hospital.

There was a fire spreading to the north of his tower. Bill says it'll stop before it reaches them and it won't spread far by the end of the summer, so they'll be gone if it does get worse, but Dipper's worried. He shouldn't have signed up for this job, he knows now. But Bill has made the job better than he could have imagined.

"Hey there tiger is that a pinecone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me."

"You can't even see me."  
"Way to ruin my fun."

Things were going well.

"So Bill, I'm curious, what was the guy before me like?" Dipper ran his fingers through his unruly hair before putting his hat back on.

"Oh that guy? He was a major douche. Alcoholic, brought his son up every summer but didn't let him do anything. He didn't tell anyone he was leaving the job he just… didn't show up again. I feel bad for his son, to have a dad like that must've sucked."

"That really sucks. Kinda creepy that they both just disappeared like that."

"Oh he didn't disappear, some stay he's still haunting these woods as we speak…" Bill said ominously. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Hardy-har. Im spooked."

Bill burst out into laughter that had Dipper pulling the radio away from his face.

"You should be!" He cried, still laughing his ass off.

"So what's there to do here? Besides scaring off unruly party-goers and traipsing around the forest of course." Dipper asked, leaning back in the bed he was currently lying on.

"Well there's hiking trails, the lake, more hiking trails, and the possibility of sex in the bushes."

A blush heated Dipper's cheeks as he buried his face into his hands.

"Why would you have sex in the bushes? There's bugs and who knows what else."

"Well you gotta do what you gotta do."

"You don't _have_ to have sex." This whole conversation had Dipper blushing and nervously rolling his eyes. He'd had sex before, but he was never comfortable with the topic. Getting to know a person first is more rewarding than just random sex.

"In the middle of the woods, what else are you gonna do? Personally though, I'd prefer it in a tent. Although since we're basically alone out here, I guess I gotta settle for phone sex."

"P-phone sex?' Dipper stuttered, red on his cheeks reaching a whole new saturation.

"Yeah, it's when you-"

"I know what phone sex is!"

Bill chuckled amusedly, making Dipper angry. It's such a silly thing to get frustrated over, but Dipper get's annoyed at how Bill can never seem to be serious.

"Oh you do? Have you ever done it?"

The ever present blush in his cheeks seemed to intensify as that question came up. He decided to be honest, despite the uncomfortable topic.

"Well I don't see why it matters but… no I haven't."

The next words out of Bill's mouth became the start of their odd relationship.

"Do you want to?"

Dipper sat up in bed, looking over at the other tower through the window to where surely Bill was laughing at him. It must be some kind of joke. Why would he want to do that with him? Sure they've been getting closer but not _that_ close, have they?

"I mean… I wouldn't know how." Dipper figured that was the safest response. He'd have to see how this plays out.

"I can teach you." For once, Bill sounded completely serious.

"Well then, show me what to do."

"Are you lying down?"

"Yes."

"Are you nervous?"

"Kinda."

"Don't be. Relax. This'll be fun."

Dipper laid back down in bed, closing his eyes and breathing in, then breathing out.

"Okay."

Dipper decided it had been long enough. He was gonna check out that hidden cave system.

He got a rope and his backpack and went on his way, informing Bill of his journey in case something drastic were to happen. With that he was on his way down, finding an axe in one of the drop boxes and forcing open the gate.  
"This anarchist side of you is really turning me on."

"Shut up please I'm doing some serious business."

"I'd love for you to do serious business to me."

He broke open the gate blocking off the cave and went inside, immediately turning on his flashlight and pointing it into the darkness of the cool blue cave. The cave itself was narrow, clearly partially man-made as it was just wide enough for a group tour to come through and hike in.

Dipper followed the right path, jumping over rocks and ridges, until he got to a clearing. There was a large ridge to the left, a cliff coming from about thirty feet up until it landed on the bottom. At the bottom was a misshapen heep attached to a broken rope, the rest of the rope hanging at the top of the cliff. It was… oh god…

"Bill, Bill there's a…" Dipper couldn't take his eyes away from the hunk of limbs and bright colors. "There's a kid's body down here."

"..."

Dipper felt like crying. How could such a thing happen with nobodies knowledge? The kid was wearing a brightly colored striped shirt and jeans, not the proper hiking attire. He had on a large backpack that clearly wasn't meant for someone as small as him. The kid was broken, blood came from a spot at his head, staining the rocks beneath with a crusted, dry mess of rusty colors.

"I guess we know what happened to the last guys kid now." Bill stated morbidly after a moment of silence.

Shock coursed through Dipper's veins, realizing the implication. They didn't disappear. They were right here. Where was the father though? And why was this never reported?

"I'm gonna go back to my tower and.. call someone…"

"Dipper…"

"I'm fine." He choked out, stepping around the body and running towards another entrance to the cave, quickly chopping through the lock and gasping large breaths of air as he broke free from the death filled cave.

"You're clearly not. Let me call them, go back and take some time to calm down, okay?" Bill demanded.

"... Okay. Fine, yeah, I'll… I'll do that." Dipper's gasping hadn't stopped and he belatedly realized he was having a panic attack. His heart was racing, his head was pounding, everything around him was too much. It had been a while since he'd had one of these. Not since Mabel…

Slowly, he came back to himself and made his way back to his watchtower, tears he didn't notice streaming silently down his face.

He didn't sleep well that night.

The fire had become too unruly.

With the end of the summer already here, it was time for them to leave. Bill had taken a helicopter out about an hour ago, radio signal cutting out between them. Dipper was alone as he walked to the sight he was to be picked up.

People had come a while ago to pick up the body of the kid. His name was identified to be Robert Valentino. Dipper didn't even know the kid, but he died too young. Dipper wouldn't be attending the funeral.

There were still so many mysteries held in these woods, and none of his questions had been answered. There was always next summer, but after Mabel comes back, will he even get the chance to come back?

Something is pulling him to the forest. Whatever it is, Dipper wants to find out. And he will find it out, with Bill, next summer.

As many summers as it's gonna take.


End file.
